Lord Spencer's Gaming (and other stuff) Blog

The first Syphon Filter game followed the steps of Metal Gear in making an Action-packed game with some cinematic sensibilities, and it proved to be one of the better games that partially imitated the great PS1 classic. Syphon Filter 2 is more of the same, but thanks to the lessons the development team learned, it is a much tighter experience in both its gameplay and story. As a result, I have no doubt that it is one of the greatest PS1 action games at the time and one that is still fun to play today. #36: Syphon Filter 2:- Year: 2000. Genre: 3rd Person Shooter/Stealth Publisher: 989 Studios Developer: Eidetic

Games like Metal Gear Solid showcased the development in gameplay and storytelling that was possible on the PS1, and many aspiring developers raced to follow its example. Several attempts failed at providing a compelling narrative, compelling gameplay, or both. Syphon Filter is one of the few games that succeeded in that regard, offering a solid story within an innovative and fun game. Despite its polygonal graphics and early 3rd Person mechanics showing their age, the first game in the series is still fun to play. #36(S1): Syphon Filter:- Year: 1999. Genre: 3rd Person Shooter/Stealth Publisher: 989 Studios Developer: Eidetic

Made by some of the same team that developed the uber-serious Xenogears game, at a time when Square seemed to have a Midas touch, Threads of Fate was made to be a contrasting light-hearted adventure that still makes an impression. At that, the team succeeds while maintaining Square's excellent PS1 track record. Despite a number of minor issues that keep it from being a great game, is a charming and memorable title that could endear itself greatly to the player. It did that for me when I first played it, without completing it, nearly two decades ago, and it endeared itself to me again this time as well. #35: Threads of Fate:- Year: 1999, 2000. Genre: Action RPG. Publisher: Square. Developer: Square.

Many PS1 RPGs with heavy Anime aesthetics had dating sim elements in the game. Yet, very few of them were ever localized west. Thousand Arms , which was published by Atlus, is one of few such games that was ported West. Honestly, if this is the best of the genre, then we haven't missed much. After all, Thousand Arms is a thoroughly mediocre game even without its dating sim elements, and those make it an even worse game. #A64: Thousand Arms: Year: 1998, 1999. Genre: RPG Dating Sim. Publisher: Atlus. Developer: Red Company, Atlus.

Vanguard Bandits , known as Epica Stella in Japan, is one of those obscure quintessential Japanese games that would have never been released West if not for companies such as Working Designs which thrived on porting them. It's a Tactical RPG (already a niche genre) featuring Mechs in a medieval setting (a niche within a niche) with plenty of story and character. As a game, this is probably one of Working Designs better porting choices, but that's not the case for the localization itself which is hindered by the company's usual liberty with translation. While this doesn't irreparably ruin the game, it does hinder what otherwise could have been a solid very good game. #A65: Vanguard Bandits: Year: 1998, 2000. Genre: TRPG. Publisher: Working Designs . Developer: Human Entertainment .

With the massive success and revolutionary impact of Super Mario 64 , it was natural for more 3D Platformers to be developed. Platforming was proven to work in a 3D environment. However, most of the early attempts at 3D Platformers outside of Nintendo's expert hands produced disastrous games such as Bubsy 3D . One of the first successful attempts outside of Nintendo was Croc: Legend of the Gobbos , which was made by true 3D artists, which honestly shows. Yet, regardless of how good it still looks today, the gameplay design is simply lacking in many ways. #A66: Croc: Legend of the Gobbos:- Year: 1997. Genre: 3D Platformer. Publisher: Fox Interactive. Developer: Argonaut Software.

Released relatively late in the PS1 life cycle, Dragon Valor was touted as an Action RPG with some relatively decent graphics and combat. I don't know if that genre classification is what caused it, but the game was considered to be a mediocre ARPG and did not have a good reputation. However, I think if people stopped to consider what is the actual genre of the game, they may not have been disappointed at what it is not. Simply put, Dragon Valor is no more an RPG than Guardian Heroes on the Saturn was. This is a Hack 'n' Slash game with some minor RPG elements, and it was a good game at the time, but it is not worth it much today. #A69: Dragon Valor: Year: 1999, 2000. Genre: Action (Hack 'n' Slash)'. Publisher: Namco. Developer: Namco.

The Front Mission series is one of the lesser-known Square franchises of the SNES and PS1 era. Despite releasing 4 games in 4 years, it never endeared itself to the public in the same way the Final Fantasy and Mana series managed to do, as evidenced by Front Mission 3 being the first game in the series to be localized for the West. Thankfully, Front Mission 3 does a lot to advocate for the series, with its strong and mature storyline mixed with satisfying tactical RPG gameplay mechanics in the unforgettable modern-retro Cold War setting of the 22nd century. #26: Front Mission 3:- Year: 1999, 2000. Genre: TRPG. Publisher: Square. Developer: Square.

In a telling signal of its diminishing legacy, several reviews of Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare suggested that it was heavily inspired by Capcom's Resident Evil series, which is obvious to anyone looking at both games in the context of the PS1. However, it was Resident Evil that was inspired by the first Alone in the Dark game, which is the game frequently thought to have originated in the Survival Horror genre. Yet, the game's two sequels were disappointing messes, and Resident Evil's success cemented it as the leader of the genre that The New Nightmare then emulated. Unfortunately, while a competent game at the time, there is little to recommend this game today. #A70: Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare: Year: 2001. Genre: Survival Horror. Publisher: Infogrames. Developer: Darkworks.

The PS1 proves to have a strong library with a pretty solid top 80-71 games according to the Retro Sanctuary List . However, the list continues to select poor titles among those that deserve the honor. Of the below games, two are outright bad games, and two I can guarantee don't deserve to be in a top 100 PS1 games list. What these 10 games show is that the PS1 had really strong RPG and Action-Adventure titles, with games like Alundra, Star Ocean 2, and Breath of Fire IV showing up this early in the list despite being very good games. Even the titles related to those games are good enough in some way to be included in this list. Let's see in the future reports if Retro Sanctuary picks better games than these, or if we will still see terrible games like MDK and Vigilante 8 wrongly take their space. Please enjoy:-

In many ways, the Breath of Fire series is the quintessential JRPG. When detractors of the genre complain of its adverseness to innovation, they would usually complain about cliches found in this series. Ironically, the detractor's own complaints are usually just as cliched as what they complain about, with very few JRPGs actually following through with many of their complaints as much as they would like you to believe. That is, except for the Breath of Fire series, which embodies them proudly in many ways. Silent Protagonist with a mysterious destiny, check. Saving the world from an ancient evil, check. Invoking the powers of friendship, check. A battle against a God-figure at the end, check. Yet, the series also always managed to provide a comfortable experience in a solid package, and as such, it became Capcom's main RPG franchise. Generally, the series was well-received both commercially and critically. However, with the release of the fifth game on the PS2, which was a h...

Breath of Fire recently came to my mind with the news of Breath of Fire 6 . Which was released with much chagrin by fans of the series and gaming in general as Capcom went ahead to deface another beloved series into a husk of its former self. However, I realized that BoF was never a strongly followed series. It was both critically and financially lukewarm. In Fact, most Final Fantasy titles sold more individually than the entire BoF series combined. Hence, it is somewhat confusing to see many fans remember the game fondly. In reviewing BoF2 , I understood both facts. I understood why the game is remembered fondly by those who played it, and also why it didn't receive much critical or commercial acclaim. #53: Breath of Fire II: Year: 1993(JP), 1995 (NA). Genre: RPG. Publisher: Capcom. Developer: Capcom.

I don't think either fans or Capcom itself would have predicted that Breath of Fire IV would be the last traditional game in the series. After all, it was released with a lot of love from Capcom, and it looked like it was setting up the mythology for future sequels. For whatever reason, the next games in the series went in a completely different direction, and the franchise has since lain dormant. This is a shame because here we have a classic RPG, built in many ways like an updated SNES RPG, that begs for a traditional sequel. After all, I still have bittersweet feelings at its ending, and I wish I was still it was a little bit longer. #75: Breath of Fire IV: Year: 2000. Genre: RPG. Publisher: Capcom. Developer: Capcom.

Both on the SNES and the PS1, Capcom’s Breath of Fire series was rarely considered as examples of the system’s best RPGs. In many ways, they felt too formulaic and safe to be contenders for greatness. On the PS1, where graphics were going into a more 3D and “realistic” style, the first BoF game was firmly planted in the past. Ironically, it is this last quality that best preserves BoF III for today’s players. Its sprites and 2D graphics and animations have aged better than most PS1 RPGs, and what may have been considered (erroneously) a weakness at one point is the game’s biggest strength along with a surprisingly good story and characters. Yet, other weaknesses that were noted in the past, such as a lack of innovation and depth in its combat and an overall sluggishness to the experience, all contribute to dragging the game down. In the end, BoF III’s adherence to past SNES RPGs is both its biggest strength and most damaging weakness #75(S): Breath of Fire III: Year: 1997 (JP), 19...